Week 4 Preview

Jeffrey Robinson's match up with Chris Owens could be the defining battle in the clash between GasTerra Flames Groningen and Team TEHO Sport Kotka

This might not be an action-packed week in the EuroChallenge, but three important games take place on Tuesday for the Regular Season to reach its half-way point in Groups E, F and G.

The Danes of Bakken Bears Aarhus will try to extend their unbeaten run to three games against Cholet while the Dutch of GasTerra Flames Groningen and the Hungarians of Fortress Jaszberenyi will look to get off the mark in the competition.

Key Match-Up: Jeffrey Robinson vs. Chris OwensRobinson leads Groningen in scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounds (7.5 rebounds per game) in the EuroChallenge as he shoots an amazing 82.4% from two-point range, the third-best in the competition. The veteran Owens plays closer to the rim than his compatriot and despite his 34 years, he is key to the Finnish side's chances, as he averages 18.5 points per game, despite the fact he fouled out after just 16 minutes on the floor in last Tuesday's loss to Okapi Aalstar.

Key Stat: Kotka average a relatively moderate 9.0 assists per game, but look like enormous altruists in comparison with Groningen, who only dish out 6.5 per game, the lowest in the EuroChallenge. The Dutch also come up short on the glass, as they average just 31.5 rebounds a night compared to the Finnish side's 40.

Game Notes: Quentin Pryor, the 30-year-old guard who averages 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game for Groningen in the EuroChallenge, will sit out the game because of injury.

Nikolas Raivio is not scared to get involved inside the paint for Fortress Jaszberenyi

Key Match-Up:Anton Glazunov vs. Nikolas RaivioThe two guards do a bit of everything for their teams on the floor. The Russian point guard averages 12 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, while the Belgian-born American scores 9.5 points and leads his team in steals (2.0 per game) and in rebounds with 7.0 boards per game (also in the Hungarian league, with 9.9 rebounds per game), despite the fact he is a 1.92m shooting guard.

Key Stat: When it comes to taking care of the ball, the contrast between the two opponents is really stark as Ekaterinburg only commit nine turnovers per game and are the best team in the EuroChallenge in this aspect, while Jaszberenyi turn the ball over an average of 22.5 times per game, more than any other team in the competition.

Key Match-Up:Kenneth Barker vs. Terrell StoglinThe battle of the point guards makes for an interesting sub-plot in Tuesday's clash in Denmark as the two Americans lead their respective teams in scoring, posting similar figures, but employ slightly different styles of play. Barker averages 15 points, 4.5 rebounds and a team-high 5.0 assists, while Stoglin averages 14.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per encounter.

Key Stat: Every trip to the foul line is a nightmare for these two opponents, as they are the bottom teams in the EuroChallenge in free-throw percentage. The worst offender is Cholet, who have only converted 21 of their 38 shots from the charity stripe (55.3%) while Bakken have hit 20 of 35 free-throws (57.1%)

Game Notes: Bakken have no less than 12 Danish players on their roster and all of them have represented their country at some point, either at youth or senior level. Point guard Sebastian Petersen is the youngest of the bunch and if he features either against Cholet or in next Tuesday's game against ZZ Leiden, he will have made his debut in a European club competition before turning 18.